Happiness Triumphant
by ATTHS
Summary: Summer has officially begun, and Mulder cannot wait to spend it with his little girl, who has just completed her first year of preschool.


_June 2022_

School was nearly over for the year, and summer was stretching out before them like a never ending road that promised many adventures. Camp outs, staying up late, trips to the library for story hour, arts and crafts, or simply being home and doing nothing.

Mulder had been looking forward to it for weeks, much to Scully's amusement, even going so far as to crossing the days off the calendar with Faith. Big black X's that made him smile, but for reasons Faith would never understand.

The square on the calendar for the seventeenth of June, was circled and decorated with ice cream cones, happy faces, and shooting stars. No way could anyone miss the importance of the day.

On the seventeenth, he waited at the school for Faith, pacing internally for twenty minutes as he sat in the car working at getting the high score on Candy Crush, a game he denied playing anytime Scully questioned him about the app.

"I don't play that game, Scully. It's silly. You downloaded it and it showed up on my phone too, that's all." He would tell her as she nodded with her eyebrows raised, a look he knew all too well.

_School's Out_ began to play on his phone, interrupting his game, and he shut it off. Hearing it playing, he grinned, happy he had taken the time to figure out how to set it as his alarm.

It was finally noon and time to get his girl. He was giddy with excitement as he stepped out of the car and all but ran across the parking lot.

He was the first one at the gate, and he grinned when he saw her face pressed to the classroom window, her blue eyes shining with happiness, and a huge smile on her face.

She ran to him when the door opened, her dark hair flying and from the braids Scully had taken the time to put in that morning.

"Daddy!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's the day, Daddy! It's ice cream day!"

"It is and so much more! No more school! You don't have to be back here for three months! No more school! No more school! Oh… sorry Miss Cole. We, uh…" he said, catching sight of Faith's teacher. He looked at Faith and she smiled, absolutely no help to him in his moment of awkwardness.

"It's quite alright, Mr. Mulder," Miss Cole said with a smile. "If you promise not to tell anyone, at this time next week, I'll feel the same way." She put a finger to her lips and winked.

He chuckled and nodded, reaching into his back pocket as he shifted Faith to his side. "This is from Dana and I. I know Faith gave you her card…"

"Which I will treasure always. Handprint flowers are my weakness."

"Right. Well, we wanted you to also have a little something extra, so this is for you." He handed her a pink greeting card envelope and smiled at her. "Thank you for everything this year. Faith has enjoyed your class and she's really blossomed. I know you had a lot to do with it, so thank you."

Miss Cole sniffled and took the card with a shaky smile. "Thank you. She's been a joy to have in class and I'm excited to see the person she continues to become." She touched Faith's shoulder and she dove into her arms. Miss Cole gave out a laugh which ended on a sob, as she hugged her tightly.

"I love you Miss Cole! Do you want come and get ice cream with us? I like chocolate," Faith asked, pulling back to look at her.

"No… I…" Her eyes were wet and she swallowed a couple of times. "I would love to, but I have to say goodbye to the other children. You have a _wonderful _summer, and I'll see you next year, okay?"

"Okay!" She slid down and went to grab her backpack and lunchbox.

"She's a very sweet girl. I know we're not supposed to have favorites," she said conspiratorially, looking at the other children. "But come on…" He laughed and nodded.

"I agree, but I am rather biased. Thank you again. Have a great summer." He smiled as Faith ran back to him and handed him her things, hugging Miss Cole once more.

Taking Faith's hand, they walked past the other parents who were beginning to trickle in to pick up their children, most of them not appearing to be as excited as he felt. But then, they did not have a blue eyed girl who had been counting down to today, her excitement nearly as high as his own.

"Daddy, can I have sprinkles on my ice cream?"

"Don't you always?"

"Uh huh. But it's polite to ask, right?"

"It is indeed, my girl," he said with a laugh. "It is indeed. How about today you get sprinkles _and _gummy bears?"

"Really?"

"Sure! It's the last day of school! We are freeeeee!" He threw his head back and howled and she copied him, both of them howling to the sky and then laughing as they looked at each other.

"Come on, my wild girl, let's go get that ice cream." He scooped her up and buckled her in her seat, dropping her bags on the floorboard, and waving goodbye to the school as they drove away.

"See you next time!" Faith called and he smiled as he looked back at her in the rear view mirror; a little carbon copy of him and Scully all rolled into one little person.

The drive to the ice cream shop took about fifteen minutes, during which she told him about her last day of school. They played most of the day and then helped Miss Cole box up the toys for the children to play with the next school year.

"Sounds like you had fun _and _you were productive."

"What does pro-duc-tive mean?"

"It means you worked at something and accomplished a goal. The goal was to box up the toys and help Miss Cole. You and your classmates worked together, you were productive, and you finished that goal," he explained, glancing back at her again.

"Oh. Yeah, we were very pro-duc-tive. I helped Elijah put the cars in the red bin and Margot helped Ryan do the instruments. Miss Cole said it was good teamwork."

"And she's right, you all worked hard and got the job done, now it's time forrrrrrr ICE CREAM!" he shouted as they pulled into the parking lot and she lifted her arms in the air in celebration.

Walking into the shop, he let her go ahead of him, waving at the girl behind the counter, and then startling when Faith suddenly yelled out.

"Mommy!" she said as she ran to the left and sure enough, there stood Scully, smiling as she bent down to receive Faith's hug. "You surprised me, Mommy!" Scully laughed and met Mulder's eyes over Faith's shoulder.

"Was it a good surprise?" Scully asked as Faith pulled back and held her face in her small hands.

"The best surprise! Are you getting ice cream too?"

"I am, my love." Scully smiled as she brushed Faith's hair back and kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's pick out our flavors." She stood up and grasped Faith's hand, smiling at Mulder as she walked closer. "Surprised?"

"Without a doubt," he said, kissing her lips and squeezing her upper arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't miss the _most _important day of the year. It's only been on the calendar for two months now," she teased and he smiled, kissing her again.

"You joining us just for ice cream?"

"Nope," she smiled. "I took the rest of the day off. Just had to finish up paperwork this morning and I am here for it all."

"Well, that's the best surprise I could hope to hear." He placed his hand on the small of her hack and they walked over to place their order.

Sitting down at a table, Scully stopped Faith from taking her first bite, tying her hair back first, knowing how messy she could get.

"What happened to the braids I put in your hair this morning?" Scully asked, tucking a strand behind Faith's ear.

"I was Rapunzel today. She doesn't have braids," she responded, taking a big bite of her chocolate ice cream, a gummy bear falling from her spoon and into her cup.

"Hmm. Can't argue with that logic," Scully smiled and shrugged, taking a bite of her own ice cream; chocolate with salted caramel sauce and brownie bits.

Mulder winked at her and scooped a large bite of his ice cream into his mouth; strawberry with white chocolate sauce. Licking his lips, he watched Scully staring and leaned forward with a napkin.

"Oh, you have a little drool there," he teased with a smirk, wiping at the corner of her mouth.

"Oh… you better just knock it off," she laughed and pushed his hand away as she shook her head.

"Daddy, here, have one of my gummy bears." No chance to politely refuse or even lean away, she shoved a cold hard gummy bear between his lips and into his mouth. He coughed as he sat back in his seat, rolling the candy around on his tongue, letting it thaw a bit before he bit it.

"Instant karma, I love it," Scully laughed and Faith took another big bite, watching him chew the candy.

"Double karma," he said, making a face. "It's a green one." Scully laughed harder as Faith frowned. "Thank you honey, I love it." Her frown changed to a smile as he kissed the top of her head, making another face at Scully.

They continued eating their ice cream, as Faith told them what she did on her last day; playing and having fun with her friends.

"Miss Cole gave me a present. It's in my backpack. Can I open it in the car?" she asked Mulder, her lips and chin covered in chocolate. He smiled and wiped her mouth and then saw the state of her hands.

"Why don't you and Mommy go wash up, I'll toss out our trash, and we can go see about that present?"

She jumped down from her chair and they went to the bathroom while he cleared their table. When they returned, she took each of their hands and they walked out to the car.

As Faith opened her gift, a book she had loved in the classroom, Scully moved her car to a shadier spot, before getting into Mulder's car.

"How about we go to the children's museum?" she suggested, as she buckled her seatbelt and Faith cheered.

For the next two hours, Faith ran around playing with everything: the water area, the pretend city where she shopped and then scanned her groceries, the stage where she controlled the lights and sound, and the little farm area with real live chicks in a plastic covered habitat.

Watching a puppet show, with Faith sitting front and center, Mulder and Scully sat in the back on a faux log. Sighing as the children all laughed, Mulder glanced at her.

"You okay?" he asked, interlocking his fingers with hers.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm okay," she said quietly.

"Didn't sound very convincing," he replied, nudging her a little with his shoulder. She sighed and squeezed his hand, putting her head on his shoulder.

"It's going by so fast," she whispered and he watched Faith, pointing excitedly at the puppets along with the other kids, telling them to look behind them.

"Some of it, Scully. Not everything," he said and she sighed again. "I've loved every age and stage of her life, but this right now, this is the best. She can express her feelings, her wants and needs, and she can understand consequences- good and bad. She's so much fun, so intelligent, and has such a beautiful soul."

"Mulder," she breathed, taking a shaky breath and sniffing.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry," he said, letting go of her hand and putting his arm around her, pulling her close. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I love working, but I want to be at home too. I know this was _my _decision, and you've never made me feel I've made the wrong one, but… I don't know. Should I have waited until she started kindergarten in a couple of years? She will be there full time then…"

"Scully, stop, or you'll make _me _cry," he said with a heavy sigh. "I don't even want to think about that right now. This past year has been hard enough. The three hours she's gone, twice a week is bad enough. But all day? _Five _days a week?" She chuckled as he shook his head and she placed her hand on his thigh, giving it a squeeze.

"I say, we enjoy the moments we are in, and worry later, especially on a day like today. It's ice cream day, Scully." He rubbed her arm and she laughed.

"Yes, it is. Okay. No more crying. Be in the now, right?"

"Well if we're talking _Wayne's World_, the quote is _live _in the now, but otherwise, you're right."

"I wasn't talking _Wayne's World_."

"Seems silly not to be, but then I suppose that means you're right," he said, moving his arm to clap for the end of the puppet show along with everyone else.

"I do enjoy hearing that," she teased, as they stood up to meet Faith.

"I know you do," he said, close to her ear, and he heard her chuckle.

Deciding it was time to leave, they walked through the gift shop, telling Faith she could pick one item. Taking her decision very seriously, she walked around the shop looking at everything. Hearing her gasp, they both wondered what had caught her eye.

She reached out toward a black picnic box covered in brightly colored planets, comets, stars, and meteoroids. All of them, save the tiny stars, had happy smiling faces.

"That's Earth. And that's Saturn. Mars. Neptune. What's this purple one?" She held the box in her hands and pointed to it, looking up at Mulder.

"I don't think it's entirely accurate, but it's pretty cute. Let's see what's inside, shall we?" He knelt down beside her and they unlocked it.

Opening it, they found a tea set. Four cups, plates, and saucers, a tray to serve it on and a teapot all decorated with stars and planets. The tray had an astronaut, a monkey, and a dog wearing round clear helmets as they stood on the moon.

"Ohhh, I love it," she said, touching the teapot. "It has a dog on it. Like Bella. Can I have this?"

"Absolutely! One tea set coming right up!" He stood up and handed it back to Faith. "You lead the way, my love." She grinned and carried her purchase to the register as they followed her.

"She already has a tea set, you know," Scully said quietly.

"Not one with planets," he said just as quietly and she laughed.

The girl at the register smiled as she rang up the tea set and Mulder handed Faith the money to pay for it which she did happily. Change given, they thanked her and walked out, Faith carrying her lunchbox with a big smile.

They dropped Scully back at her car, with plans for her to pick up food for dinner while they went home, to put away the school things, and give Faith a bath. Scully waved as they drove away, Faith chattering in the backseat about her new tea set.

When they got home, they greeted Bella who was very happy to see them, running around the yard and chasing Faith. She laughed as she fell in the grass and Bella licked her face, before lying down beside her, pushing her head at Faith, wanting to be pet.

"You're a good girl, Bella. I love you," she told her, kissing her head and getting up to go into the house with Bella following.

Inside, they had a ceremonial putting away of her cleaned out school backpack and lunch bag, saying thank you for the school year and they would see it in a few months. Then they went upstairs and Faith had a fun time splashing and playing in the mountains of sweet smelling bubbles added to her bath as Bella lay beside the tub keeping watch.

Dried and dressed in her unicorn nightgown, Mulder braided her hair, though not as neatly as Scully always seemed to get them. Adding two sparkly clips, they went downstairs to open her tea set.

"Oh, wait!" she shouted, as they had it all set up. She ran upstairs, coming back down with her alien and a small purple unicorn. "We needed more people." She set them on the coffee table in front of the plates, as Mulder knelt down at his place.

"May I please have some tea, Miss Faith?" he asked, holding out his tin star covered cup.

"You may," she said, lifting the tea pot and pouring some water into his cup.

"Mm, it smells delicious. Which flavor did you choose today?"

"It's cinnamon and honey."

"An excellent choice," he said, taking a small sip with his pinky in the air. She poured some into the other cups and then lifted hers to take a sip.

"Mm, it's very good. The honey makes it very sweet," she said knowingly and he nodded.

"May I have a cookie, Miss Faith?"

"You may." She offered him the plate of shortbread cookies, adding one to each of the plates and to her own.

"Such _lovely_ treats you've prepared today. Thank you for inviting me to _such_ a splendid party."

"Daddy, you're so silly," she said with a giggle and he made a funny face at her.

Halfway through their second cup, Scully came in with bags of food. Deciding on a picnic in the house, they put away the tea party, laid a blanket out on the floor, and sat down to eat their dinner.

They each snuck bites of food to Bella who was ecstatic at their apparent new eating arrangements. Faith giggled a lot as they ate, the fun of the day seeming to catch up with her. Scully told some funny stories, thus increasing the laughter and soon they were all laughing and trying to stop, thought it was nearly impossible.

Once they had calmed down and dinner was finished and cleared away, Mulder suggested a movie night. Something they had not seen before.

"How about Rapunzel, since you pretended to be her today, Faith? We haven't seen that yet, right? No wait, it's not called that, it's something else. What's it called? Wrapped Up?"

"I think you mean _Tangled_," Scully laughed and he nodded.

"Yes. _Tangled_. Let's have a pajama party and watch that movie."

So they did. Popcorn was popped, waters brought to the coffee table, and cozy blankets gathered. The lights were dimmed as the movie started, Faith snuggled in between them, her alien in her arms.

Fifteen minutes in and she asked at least thirty questions. Mulder paused it to try to answer them in better depth so she understood that Rapunzel had been taken from her parents and raised by the mean mommy, who did not love her, but only her hair.

"Her hair is _really _long," she said, watching the mean mommy slide down it as Mulder unpaused the movie. "Why doesn't she cut it?"

"Remember it turns brown, like when she was a baby. She can't cut it or it will lose its magic," Scully told her.

"Oh, yeah."

Mulder looked at Scully and smiled as they watched her watch the movie. She did not watch much television, but when she did, she was always engrossed in what was happening.

It was quiet for a bit as they watched the funnier bits, all of them laughing at the horse, Flynn, and Rapunzel shoving him in her closet.

"I don't like her mean mommy yelling at her," she said, turning her head and hiding on Scully as she held her arm. "She's being mean." Mulder looked at Scully again and she stuck out her lip with a smile.

"I like the lizard, he's funny."

"He's a chameleon, honey. He can change colors."

"Oh no, her mean mommy is back. I don't like her, Mommy. She makes me sad."

"Do you want me to turn it off, baby?" Mulder asked and she shook her head.

"I just want to hold onto Mommy," she said, her head on Scully's arm as she held it. Scully smiled as she leaned her own head down on top of hers.

Again watching Faith more than the movie, she had become quieter, but very animated, and they smiled. She sat forward, soaking it all in, as she hid her face, covered her mouth, and stared at the television with wide eyes.

"The mean mommy is trying to trick Rapunzel. Mommy, I don't want to see her." She hid in Scully's arm, only looking when they said she was gone.

"I like the horse, he's like Bella. Oh, they're at the castle now. It's so pretty there. I like all the flowers in her hair too."

She got off the couch and spun around as Rapunzel danced with Flynn, actually named Eugene, and Bella barked at her as she did. Scully reached for Mulder's hand and squeezed it, her chin scrunching as they watched her spinning around and then stopping as the music did, Eugene and Rapunzel also stopping. She stood in front of the television, watching the movie, not coming back to the couch.

"That's her real mommy and daddy. Is her daddy sad?"

"Yes, he is," Mulder said, and she turned around, her eyes big.

"Why is he sad?"

"Because he misses his little girl. Remember the mean mommy took her away from them when she was a baby and they have missed her very much."

She looked back at the movie and then came over and crawled into his lap, her head under his chin as he wrapped an arm around her. Scully moved over and he put his other arm around her as they sat silently watching the movie.

Until Faith gasped and sat up, leaning forward.

"The lights are so pretty. So many beautiful lights."

Scully leaned her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath. "Makes me think of the lanterns for my mom," she whispered and he nodded, squeezing her arm.

"Oh no, the mean guys are there, Daddy," Faith burrowed back in his lap and he smiled, holding her tightly.

"Look honey, Rapunzel figured it out. She remembers seeing the sun when she was a little baby. She knows she's the princess that's been lost," he said and she turned her head to look before hiding again when the mean mommy was coming after Rapunzel.

"Oof," Mulder said with a groan as Eugene escaped from jail on the horse. "No chance for the royal bloodline to advance after Eugene lands on the saddle that hard." He shifted his legs a little and Scully laughed.

"The horse is flying!"

"Oh Daddy, I don't like the mean mommy," she said, leaning back against him, reaching her arm up to wrap around his neck.

"Oh! Eugene cut off all her long hair!"

"Damn. Pascal just straight up murdered Mother Gothel," Scully muttered as Faith leaned forward again.

"It's okay, he's a chameleon. He knows how to cover it up," Mulder murmured and she covered her mouth and giggled.

"Her magic hair is gone. She can't help Eugene and he's hurt."

"Let's just see what happens, honey."

Faith gasped as Rapunzel's tear fell on Eugene's cheek and he began to glow a bright yellow before waking up, completely healed. She smiled and clapped her hands when they hugged, climbing into Scully's lap and hugging her hard, then reaching for Mulder and hugging him too.

"Look, her mommy and daddy are happy now," Faith said, when the family was finally reunited. They nodded, both of them suddenly unable to speak past the lumps in their throats. She got down off the couch and danced around again as the movie ended and they wiped at their slightly wet eyes.

"That ending just about did me in, Jesus Christ," he muttered, thinking of how they all fell to the ground as they hugged. "Leave it to Disney, as usual."

Turning off the movie and television, he looked at Faith and smiled. "So, what did you think, honey? Did you like it?"

"Yes, but not the mean mommy. She took Rapunzel away from her family. That's not nice."

"No. It's not, but she's with them now and they're all happy again."

"I don't want someone to take me away," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't want to leave you."

"Oh, honey, come here," he said, hating to see her so upset. Her eyes were the exact shade as Scully's. Seeing her cry made him ache, just as it always did when Scully cried, and he saw such pain in the blue depths.

Faith came over and climbed onto his lap, crying hard as she clung to him. "If the mean… mommy took me… I would be… all alone," she sobbed and he turned to Scully for help, only to discover she had tears in her eyes as well.

"Oh come on," he whispered, not knowing what to do as _both_ his ladies were crying. "This isn't fair. It's double the blue eyes against me."

Scully tried to laugh but it only came out as a sob. He pulled her close and they became a mirror image of the movie, the three of them huddled together in tears. He shook his head as they cried, letting out a laugh of disbelief, at the drastic turn the evening had taken.

"Faith, my love, no one would ever take you away from us. Not ever. Not in a million years. This was just a story, one that a person made up to be fun and exciting," her said, above her soft cries. "Nearly every book or movie has a villain, the bad guy or girl, and a hero, the good guy or girl. For this movie, the villain was the mean mommy and the heroes were Rapunzel and Eugene. They worked together to stop the mean mommy and they saved the day."

"It was teamwork?" she asked softly.

"Yes. In fact, there was a lot of teamwork. All the guys helped Eugene and then he was able to help Rapunzel."

She was quiet and then she sat up, staring at him with big, wet eyes. "No one will take me?"

"No one. Daddy and Mommy would never let that happen. Or Bella. You think Bella would let anything bad happen to you?" She smiled as she looked over at Bella who was sleeping on her bed and shook her head. "No way. She's your protector and she would bite whoever tried to do anything to you. Probably right on their butt."

He smiled at her and she laughed as she looked at him again. He wiped her eyes and stroked her cheeks, kissing her forehead and sighing.

"Better now, my love?" She nodded. "And you, Mommy? Are you okay?" Scully laughed softly as she sat up. "You ladies can't _both _cry like that because what am I supposed to do then? Four blue eyes filling with tears is too much for anyone, but especially me."

Scully sighed and stared at him, her eyes still wet as she gave him a knowing look. He nodded, aware of what and of whom she was thinking.

"It's not the same."

"I know," she whispered. "It's just…"

"I know." She sighed again and he stroked her cheek.

"Faithy, I think Mommy could use a great big monster hug."

Faith leaned over and Scully pulled her into her lap, hugging her tightly, murmuring in her ear. He watched them, upset that he had chosen a movie which caused sadness, but glad that it could be fixed with a hug and some extra love.

Not wanting to end the night on a bad note, and even though it was getting late, he made a decision and suggested another tea party. Faith's eyes lit up and they worked together to clear the coffee table. He filled the teapot with cold water and brought over one cookie each, setting them on the plates.

Gathering around the table, they nodded at one another, stating what a glorious evening it was for such a wonderful tea party. Cookies were distributed, tea was poured, and together they smiled, lifted their cups, and took a sip.

The happy replacing the sad. The heroes triumphantly defeating the villain.


End file.
